GreatLIFE Going National

This piece and photos are presented by KELOLAND and the original post can be found here.

It’s been five years since GreatLIFE launched in Sioux Falls. Already more than 20 percent of the people in the city are members of the golf and fitness company.

What will happen in the next five years?

KELOLAND News sits down with the company’s CEO who plans to take the concept nationwide.

Tom Walsh Sr. was one of the biggest franchisees of Burger King in the nation, but five years ago he teed off on a new adventure.

“We’ll have unlimited golf and unlimited fitness for about 50 bucks a month,” Walsh Sr. said in December 2013.

Since the 2013 announcement, GreatLIFE has grown and grown some more. It now has 38,000 members just in Sioux Falls. That’s more than 20 percent of the city’s population.

Plus, the company is expanding to other communities, including Yankton. GreatLIFE will be leasing the city’s Fox Run Golf Course.

“It’s the first municipal golf course that we’ve leased and managed in South Dakota. We think it’s a really great opportunity for other cities. They’ll see that they no longer have to lose money on their golf courses,” GreatLIFE President Donn Hill said.

Within the next five years, Walsh hopes not just people in Sioux Falls are familiar with GreatLIFE, but all across the nation.

“It easily could be a $250 to $500 million business within five years,” Walsh Sr. said.

In fact, Walsh says he already has five franchise groups in the process.

“We’re taking this national,” Walsh Sr. said.

A national company with a unique business model that has families and friends focusing on fitness.

GreatLIFE will also open a new 10,000 square foot fitness facility early next year across from Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls.

This piece and photos are presented by KELOLAND and the original post can be found here.